Chemoprotective Mechanism of Sodium Thiosulfate Against Cisplatin-Induced Nephrotoxicity Is via Renal Hydrogen Sulfide, Arginine/cAMP and NO/cGMP Signaling Pathways.

Cisplatin is a common and highly effective chemotherapeutic agent whose nephrotoxic side effect is well-characterized. Sodium thiosulfate (STS), an FDA-approved hydrogen sulfide (HS) donor drug, is emerging as a chemoprotective agent against cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity (CIN). In this study, we investigated the chemoprotective mechanism of STS in a rat model of CIN.

Could Less Be More? Accounting for Fractional-Dose Regimens and Different Number of Vaccine Doses When Measuring the Impact of the RTS,S/AS01E Malaria Vaccine.

Background: The RTS,S/AS01E (RTS,S) malaria vaccine is recommended for children in malaria endemic areas. This phase 2b trial evaluates RTS,S fractional- and full-dose regimens in Ghana and Kenya.

Methods: In total, 1500 children aged 5-17 months were randomized (1:1:1:1:1) to receive RTS,S or rabies control vaccine.

Baseline malaria infection status and RTS,S/AS01E malaria vaccine efficacy.

Background: The only licensed malaria vaccine, RTS,S/AS01 , confers moderate protection against symptomatic disease. Because many malaria infections are asymptomatic, we conducted a large-scale longitudinal parasite genotyping study of samples from a clinical trial exploring how vaccine dosing regimen affects vaccine efficacy (VE).

Methods: 1,500 children aged 5-17 months were randomized to receive four different RTS,S/AS01 regimens or a rabies control vaccine in a phase 2b clinical trial in Ghana and Kenya.

Prevalence of Leucocytozoon infection in domestic birds in Ghana.

Leucocytozoon is a haemosporidian parasite known to cause leucocytozoonosis in domestic and wild birds in most parts of the world. It is an important pathogen, as some species can be pathogenic, especially in domestic birds. One of the factors affecting poultry health management worldwide is parasitism.

A genomic appraisal of invasive Salmonella Typhimurium and associated antibiotic resistance in sub-Saharan Africa.

Invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS) disease manifesting as bloodstream infection with high mortality is responsible for a huge public health burden in sub-Saharan Africa. Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) is the main cause of iNTS disease in Africa.

Assessment of toxicity and anti-plasmodial activities of chloroform fractions of and in murine models.

Plant as a source of medicine has gained international popularity in recent times because of its natural origin, availability in local communities, cheaper to purchase, ease of administration, and its usefulness as an alternative treatment in case of numerous side effects and drug resistance. However, the use of herbal formulations can also result in short-term and long-term organ damage or dysfunction to the host. In this study, chloroform fractions of the leaves of two medicinal plants, (ACL) and (CPL), were investigated for their toxicological and anti-malarial effects in murine models.

SARS-CoV-2 infections among asymptomatic individuals contributed to COVID-19 cases: A cross-sectional study among prospective air travelers from Ghana.

Background: The spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by asymptomatic individuals has been reported since the early stages of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in various parts of the world. However, there are limited data regarding SARS-CoV-2 among asymptomatic individuals in Ghana. The aim of the study was to use test data of prospective travelers from Ghana as a proxy to estimate the contribution of asymptomatic cases to the spread of COVID-19.

DNA read count calibration for single-molecule, long-read sequencing.

There are many applications in which quantitative information about DNA mixtures with different molecular lengths is important. Gene therapy vectors are much longer than can be sequenced individually via short-read NGS. However, vector preparations may contain smaller DNAs that behave differently during sequencing.

Targeting hepatic sulfane sulfur/hydrogen sulfide signaling pathway with α-lipoic acid to prevent diabetes-induced liver injury via upregulating hepatic CSE/3-MST expression.

Background: Diabetes-induced liver injury is a complication of diabetes mellitus of which there are no approved drugs for effective treatment or prevention. This study investigates possible hepatoprotective effect of alpha-lipoic acid (ALA), and sulfane sulfur/hydrogen sulfide pathway as a novel protective mechanism in a rat model of type 2 diabetes-induced liver injury.

Methods: Thirty Sprague-Dawley rats underwent fasting for 12 h after which fasting blood glucose was measured and rats were randomly assigned to diabetic and non-diabetic groups.

Supplementation of conventional anti-diabetic therapy with alpha-lipoic acid prevents early development and progression of diabetic nephropathy.

Background: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the leading cause of end-stage renal disease. Current pharmacological interventions only retard DN progression. Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) is a potent antioxidant with beneficial effect in other diabetic complications.

Accumulation and bioaccessibility of toxic metals in root tubers and soils from gold mining and farming communities in the Ashanti region of Ghana.

The presence of metal contaminants in agricultural soils and subsequent uptake by food crops can pose serious human health risk. In this study, we assessed the levels of toxic metals - arsenic, chromium, copper, iron, manganese, nickel, and zinc - in soils and some edible root tuber crops from two gold mining and two non-mining communities in Ghana to evaluate the potential human health risks associated with exposure to these metals. Concentrations of the metals in 154 soil and edible root tuber samples were analyzed using field portable x-ray fluorescence spectrometer prior to confirmation by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

Immunogenicity and safety of the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine co-administered with measles, rubella and yellow fever vaccines in Ghanaian children: A phase IIIb, multi-center, non-inferiority, randomized, open, controlled trial.

Background: To optimize vaccine implementation visits for young children, it could be efficient to administer the first RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine dose during the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) visit at 6 months of age together with Vitamin A supplementation and the third RTS,S/AS01 dose on the same day as yellow fever (YF), measles and rubella vaccines at 9 months of age. We evaluated the safety and immunogenicity of RTS,S/AS01 when co-administered with YF and combined measles-rubella (MR) vaccines.

Methods: In this phase 3b, open-label, controlled study (NCT02699099), 709 Ghanaian children were randomized (1:1:1) to receive RTS,S/AS01 at 6, 7.

Long-term immunogenicity and immune memory response to the hepatitis B antigen in the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine in African children: a randomized trial.

RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine contains the hepatitis B virus surface antigen and may thus serve as a potential hepatitis B vaccine. To evaluate the impact of RTS,S/AS01 when implemented in the Expanded Program of Immunization, infants 8-12 weeks old were randomized to receive either RTS,S/AS01 or a licensed hepatitis B control vaccine (HepB), both co-administered with various combinations of the following childhood vaccines: diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis- type b, trivalent oral poliovirus, pneumococcal non-typeable protein D conjugate and human rotavirus vaccine. Long-term persistence of antibodies against the circumsporozoite (CS) protein and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) were assessed, together with the immune memory response to the HB antigen following a booster dose of HepB vaccine.

Safety and immunogenicity of the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine in infants and children identified as HIV-infected during a randomized trial in sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: We assessed the safety and immunogenicity of the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine in a subset of children identified as HIV-infected during a large phase III randomized controlled trial conducted in seven sub-Saharan African countries.

Methods: Infants 6-12 weeks and children 5-17 months old were randomized to receive 4 RTS,S/AS01 doses (R3R group), 3 RTS,S/AS01 doses plus 1 comparator vaccine dose (R3C group), or 4 comparator vaccine doses (C3C group) at study months 0, 1, 2 and 20. Infants and children with WHO stage III/IV HIV disease were excluded but HIV testing was not routinely performed on all participants; our analyses included children identified as HIV-infected based on medical history or clinical suspicion and confirmed by polymerase chain reaction or antibody testing.

Safety profile of the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine in infants and children: additional data from a phase III randomized controlled trial in sub-Saharan Africa.

A phase III, double-blind, randomized, controlled trial (NCT00866619) in sub-Saharan Africa showed RTS,S/AS01 vaccine efficacy against malaria. We now present in-depth safety results from this study. 8922 children (enrolled at 5-17 months) and 6537 infants (enrolled at 6-12 weeks) were 1:1:1-randomized to receive 4 doses of RTS,S/AS01 (R3R) or non-malaria control vaccine (C3C), or 3 RTS,S/AS01 doses plus control (R3C).

In Vivo Modulation of Rat Liver Microsomal Cytochrome P450 Activity by Antimalarial, Anti-HIV, and Antituberculosis Plant Medicines.

Drug interactions are key reasons for adverse drug reactions and attrition from market. Major infectious diseases causing morbidity/mortality in Ghana are malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS. In this study, plant medicines commonly used to treat/manage these diseases in Ghana were investigated for their potential to modulate rat cytochrome P450 enzyme activities.

An extract of Synedrella nodiflora (L) Gaertn exhibits antidepressant properties through monoaminergic mechanisms.

Synedrella nodiflora (SNE) has been used traditionally for many neurological conditions and some of these neuroactive effects have been scientifically substantiated. The usefulness of SNE in depression has however not been investigated despite the availability of data in other disease models indicating it may be useful. The present study therefore examined the effect of SNE in acute murine models of depression and the possible mechanisms mediating its activities in these models.

Host-mediated selection impacts the diversity of Plasmodium falciparum antigens within infections.

Host immunity exerts strong selective pressure on pathogens. Population-level genetic analysis can identify signatures of this selection, but these signatures reflect the net selective effect of all hosts and vectors in a population. In contrast, analysis of pathogen diversity within hosts provides information on individual, host-specific selection pressures.

Immune response to the hepatitis B antigen in the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine, and co-administration with pneumococcal conjugate and rotavirus vaccines in African children: A randomized controlled trial.

The RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine (Mosquirix) reduces the incidence of Plasmodium falciparum malaria and is intended for routine administration to infants in Sub-Saharan Africa. We evaluated the immunogenicity and safety of 10-valent pneumococcal non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae protein D conjugate vaccine (PHiD-CV; Synflorix) and human rotavirus vaccine (HRV; Rotarix) when co-administered with RTS,S/AS01 ( www.clinicaltrials.

Psychotropic Effects of an Alcoholic Extract from the Leaves of (Leguminosae-Mimosoideae).

Background: is used in Ghanaian traditional medicine for the management of mental disorders. The present study tested the hypothesis that an extract of the leaves of (AZE) may possess antipsychotic and antidepressant properties.

Method: The novelty- and apomorphine-induced locomotor and rearing behaviours of AZE in mice were explored in an open-field observational test system.

Extract of Synedrella nodiflora (L) Gaertn exhibits antipsychotic properties in murine models of psychosis.

Background: The hydro-ethanolic whole plant extract of Synedrella nodiflora (SNE) has demonstrated anticonvulsant, sedative and analgesic effects. Preliminary studies conducted in animals, SNE significantly decreased stereotypic behaviours suggesting antipsychotic potential. Coupled with the central nervous system depressant effects of SNE, we hypothesized that it may have utility in the management of psychosis.